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Statutory obligations to Māori

Improving Māori participation in Council's decision-making processes

Council has committed to co-design a package of actions to enable iwi and Māori to contribute to Council’s decision-making processes. This follows on from Council’s decision to appoint Māori interest representatives to five of its committees and to establish Māori wards (See below). This is a commitment from Council to meet its statutory obligations to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to local government decision-making processes.

Māori Wards

We introduced a district-wide Māori ward at the 2022 local election to increase and enhance Māori representation and participation in our local government decision-making processes.

In 2019 and 2020, Council worked with Iwi partners and Māori to look at the best way of representing Māori in the 2022 local government elections. In late 2020, Council resolved to establish a Māori ward and reconfirmed this in April 2021 as an important part of ensuring Māori voices at the council table.

The Te Papamārearea Māori ward includes two councillors, which are determined by Māori electoral population. At local elections anyone on the Māori electoral roll has two votes for their preferred candidates for the Māori ward, plus a vote for the Mayor.

Māori representatives on committees

Representative groups and committees throughout the Taupō District include Māori representatives to represent and advocate for the interests of those areas.

The groups include the Kinloch Representative Group, the Mangakino/Pouākani Representative Group, the Taupō East Rural Representative Group and the Tongariro Representative Group.

The committees include the Tūrangi Co-Governance Committee, Risk and Assurance Committee, Emergency Management Committee, Taupō Airport Authority Committee, and Taupō Reserves and Roading Committee.

Māori contributing to local government decision-making

Taupō District Council has statutory obligations to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to local government decision-making processes under:

  • Local Government Act 2002
  • Resource Management Act 1991
  • Local Electoral Act 2001

These legislative provisions underpin the wider partnership principles contained in Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi.

The Local Government Act 2002 outlines how councils should engage with Māori groups as follows:

  • The relationship to Māori culture and traditions: The relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their land, water, sites, waahi tapu, valued flora and fauna, and other taonga must be taken into account when a council is making an important decision involving land or a body of water (applies to actions outside the RMA requirements on councils). (see section 77 (1)(c)).
  • Opportunities to contribute: Councils must provide Māori, and all other members of the public, with opportunities to contribute to council decision-making processes. (see section 14 (1)(d))
  • Processes to contribute: Councils must develop and maintain processes and opportunities for Māori to contribute to council decision making process. Councils must also consider ways they can help build Māori capacity to contribute to council decision-making and provide all relevant information to Maori. (see section 81)
  • Develop Māori capacity to contribute: The ways in which councils intend to develop Māori capacity to contribute to council decisions, over the ten-year period of the Long-term Plan (LTP), must be detailed in their Long-term Plans.

The Resource Management Act 1991 outlines how Councils must:

  • take into account Maori values when processing resource consents and formulating plans
  • provide for iwi authorities' input in processing resource consents and formulating plans
  • work with iwi authorities to ensure Māori participation in resource management decisions and processes of managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources.

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